Naja sumatrana M̧ller, 1890

Figueroa, Alex, Low, Martyn E. Y. & Lim, Kelvin K. P., 2023, Singapore’s herpetofauna: updated and annotated checklist, history, conservation, and distribution, Zootaxa 5287 (1), pp. 1-378 : 200-202

Naja sumatrana M̧ller, 1890 — Native.

Naja tripudians var. sumatrana M̧ller, 1890: 277–278. Holotype: NMBA 2244 , by original designation. Type locality: “aus Solok … aus Tandjong Morawa … aus Java ” (= Solok and Tanjungmorawa, Sumatra, and Java), Indonesia.

Equatorial Spitting Cobra

( Figure 23D ; Mandai Mangroves and Mudflats Nature Park)

Singapore records.

Naja lutescens var. D— Cantor, 1847c: 1039, 1071, 1078.

Naja lutescens var. nigra — Cantor, 1847c: 1039, 1071, 1078.

“Black cobra”—Oxley, 1849: 596.—Ridley, 1903: 225–226.— Anonymous, 1913: 651.

“dark cobra”— Crawfurd, 1856: 398.

Naja lutescens Laur. var. nigra —Peters, 1859: 271.

“Cobra de Capello”— Dennys, 1878a: 104.

Naja tripudians — Dennys, 1880a: 3.— Blanford, 1881: 216.—Sclater, 1891a: 59.—Sclater, 1891b: 247.— Davison, 1892: 91.— Flower, 1899: 690.—Hanitsch, 1908: 45.— Moulton, 1921: 2.— Buddle, 1929: 12 (Sembawang Naval Base [= SML]).

Naia [sic] tripudians var. sputatrix — Boulenger, 1896: 384.

Naia [sic] tripudians — Flower, 1896: 894 (Botanic Gardens).—Ridley, 1899: 209.

Naia [sic] tripudians var. D— Hanitsch, 1898: 20.— Hanitsch, 1912b: 17.

Naia [sic] sputatrix —Ridley, 1899: 201.

Naia [sic] tripudians var. D (sputatrix )— Annandale, 1906: 186.

Naia [sic] tripudians — Anonymous, 1922: 24, 25 (Watten Estate, Bukit Timah).

Naja naja —Sworder, 1923: 71.—Sworder, 1924a: 20 (Pulau Ubin).— Smith, 1943: 528.—Tweedie, 1953: 96.—Tweedie, 1961: 99.— Harman, 1961: 182.—D.S. Johnson, 1964: 27.— Gopalakrishnakone, 1990: 3.— Cross, 2020d: 1, 3 (Sime Road Camp [= SICC]).— Cross, 2020e: 2 (Sime Road Camp [= SICC]).— Cross, 2020f: 1, 2, 3 (Sime Road Camp [= SICC]).— Cross, 2020g: 1 (Sime Road Camp [= SICC]).— Cross, 2020h: 1, 3 (Sime Road Camp [= SICC]).— Cross, 2020k: 2 (Sime Road Camp [= SICC]).— Cross, 2020l: 1 (Sime Road Camp [= SICC]).— Cross, 2020m: 2, 6 (Sime Road Camp [= SICC]).— Cross, 2020n: 2, 3, 7 (Changi; Sime Road Camp [= SICC]).

Naja naja var. sputatrix —Tweedie, 1954: 116.

Naja sputatrix — Davison, 1892: 91.—Sharma, 1973: 235.

Naja naja sputatrix —F.L.K. Lim, 1984: 17.—K. Lim & F. Lim, 1988a: 27 (Yusof Ishak House [NUS]).—R. Ngim, 1988: 42 (Alexandra Park [=AW]).—K. Lim & F. Lim, 1988b: 50 (Coralarium [Sentosa]).— K. Lim & F. Lim, 1988c: 75 (Tanah Merah).— Hall, 1988: 90 (Pasir Panjang Hill).—R. Ngim et al., 1988: 92 (Alexandra Park [= AW]).—K. Lim & F. Lim, 1989: 3 (Kent Ridge [NUS]).—F.L.K. Lim & M.T.-M. Lee, 1989: 88, 115.— Afifiyan et al., 1998: 1873.

“Cobras”—L.M. Chou, 1988a: 59.

Naja naja sputratrix [sic]— Choo-Toh et al., 1985: 128 (Bukit Timah Nature Reserve).

Naja sumatrana —K. Lim, 1989e: 38 (Pulau Ubin; Punggol Farmway I).—K. Lim, 1990a: 9 (Punggol Farmway I; Sime Road Pipeline [SRF]).—K.K.P. Lim & L.M. Chou, 1990: 54.—K.K.P. Lim, 1991a: 4 (Neo Tiew Lane Track 10 [LCK]).—K.K.P. Lim & Subharaj, 1991: 5 (King’s Avenue; Sentosa).—Subharaj & K.K.P. Lim, 1991a: 3 (Neo Tiew Road [LCK]).—Subharaj & K.K.P. Lim, 1991b: (Bukit Brown; Choa Chu Kang Track 10 [CCK]; King’s Avenue; Lim Chu Kang Road [LCK]; Lorong Ayam Hutan; Lorong Danau Poyan; Neo Tiew Road [LCK]; Queen’s Avenue; Turut Track [Kranji Marshes]; Ulu Sembawang).—F.L.K. Lim, 1991: 75.—D.S. Johnson, 1992: 38.—K.K.P. Lim & Subharaj, 1992: 8 (Canberra Road; King Albert Park; King’s Avenue; Mount Serapong [Sentosa]; Neo Tiew Track 10 [LCK]; Old Upper Thomson Road; Ulu Sembawang).— K.K.P. Lim & F.L.K. Lim, 1992: 82, 148.—E.K. Chua, 1993: 79.—K.K.P. Lim, 1993a: 4 (Mandai Road-Woodlands Road [Sungei Kadut]; Thomson Road-Lentor Avenue [Ang Mo Kio]).—K.K.P. Lim, 1993b: 3 (Rifle Range Road).—K.K.P. Lim & Subaraj, 1994: 6 (Rifle Range Road).—L.M. Chou et al., 1994: 105.—L.M. Chou, 1995: 148.—K. Lim, 1995: 17 (Bidadari Cemetery; Dairy Farm Quarry [DFNP]).—R. Subaraj, 1995: 35 (Pulau Ubin).— David & Vogel, 1996: 147.— Manthey & Grossmann, 1997: 424.—R.C.H. Teo & Rajathurai, 1997: 385.— Chanhome et al., 1998: 314.— Cox et al., 1998: 29.—Chan-ard et al., 1999: 38.— Iskandar & Colijn, 2001: 122.— B.P.L. Goh et al., 2002: 56.—K.P. Lim & F.L.K. Lim, 2002: 148.— Anonymous, 2003: 92 (Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve).—N. Baker & K.P. Lim, 2008: 117, 161.—E.K. Chua, 2010: 157.— Das, 2010: 317.—T.M. Leong & Mishak, 2010: 269–270 (Rifle Range Road [RRNP]).—H.H. Tan, 2010: 645.— Chanhome et al., 2011: 313.—P.K.L. Ng et al., 2011: 302.—D.C.J. Yeo et al., 2011: 105.—N. Baker & K.P. Lim, 2012: 117, 161.— Das, 2012a: 101.— Cham et al., 2013, 1.—L.J. Ang et al., 2014: 259.—Wallach et al., 2014: 472.—M.K.K. Yap et al., 2014: 1.—Chan-ard et al., 2015: 253.— Das et al., 2015: 58.—R. Subaraj, 2015: 38 (Night Safari).—S. Subaraj, 2015: 4, 7 (Night Safari; Stephen Lee Woods [= RPN]).—K.K.P. Lim et al., 2016: 186 (Pulau Tekong).—Will, 2016: 173 (Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve).—W. Wong, 2017: 52.— Cox et al., 2018: 75.— Das, 2018: 120.—H.P. Chong et al., 2019: 2.—H.C. Ho et al., 2019: 125 (Alexandra Woodlands).—H.T.W. Tan et al., 2019: 129, 134 (Kent Ridge Park; National University of Singapore Kent Ridge Campus).— R.C.H. Teo & Thomas, 2019: 165, 181 (Bukit Timah Nature Reserve).—Allain & Goodman, 2020: 217, 218 ( Singapore Botanic Gardens [Rain Forest]).— Charlton, 2020: 236 (Kranji Marshes).— N. Kim, 2020c: 151 (Upper Seletar Reservoir Park).—K.K.P. Lim, 2020: 5 (Changi; Sime Road Camp [= SICC]).—R. Choo, 2021: 1 (Berlayer Creek).—C.H. Tan et al., 2022: 2.

“black spitting cobra”—Mong & H.H. Tan, 2016: 266.—A. Leong, 2018 (“near Dover MRT”).—J. Zhang, 2020 (Jurong Lake Gardens).—F. Tan, 2021a (Choa Chu Kang Cemetery).

“equatorial spitting cobra”—A. Leong, 2018 (“near Dover MRT”).— Alfiq, 2021.—A. Tan, 2021a (Changi Business Park).—Zheng, 2021 (Lower Peirce Reservoir).— Kow, 2022a (Pasir Ris Park).

Remarks. Since it was first recorded from Singapore, N. sumatrana was regarded as one of Singapore’s most common snakes ( Cantor 1847c; Oxley 1849; Baker & Lim 2012), but Sworder (1923) expressed it was not so common as before. Numerous observations of N. sumatrana have been published, and LKCNHM contains several preserved specimens. Davison (1892) specified that within two years, over one hundred were sent to the Raffles Museum, many more than are deposited at LKCNHM. In fact, Dennys (1878a) mentioned only receiving one. Being a venomous species that frequents urban areas, N. sumatrana is often killed out of fear. Oxley (1849) recounted how he killed several over the course of a year. Naja sumatrana only went unreported for 25 years ( Table 2 ), after Buddle (1929) reported 16 specimens at SNB. Then after Lim & Lim (1988a) reported an observation from NUS Kent Ridge campus, observations of N. sumatrana have been continually reported, but only twice in Singapore Biodiversity Records (Will 2016; Kim 2020c). As N. sumatrana can be found in urban areas, encounters are occasionally reported in the newspapers such as a domestic helper who killed one inside a home at Dover on 8 May 2018 ( Leong 2018), one crossing a path at Jurong Lake Gardens on 16 May 2020 (Zhang 2020), one seen at Changi Business Park on 7 January 2021 (A. Tan 2021a), and one seen in a standoff with a Varanus salvator at PRP on 10 January 2022 ( Kow 2022a). Over the course of a year, NParks reported receiving about 200 calls on N. sumatrana sightings ( Alfiq 2021).

Occurrence. Wide-ranging. Common.

Singapore conservation status. Least Concern.

Conservation priority. Lowest.

IUCN conservation status. Least Concern [2012].

LKCNHM & NHMUK Museum specimens. Singapore (no locality) : BMNH 1880.9 .10.8 (no date), BMNH 1930.12.2.15–17 (no date), ZRC.2.3238 (no date), ZRC.2.3219 (Nov-1912) , ZRC.2.3221 (Aug-1950) , ZRC.2.3223 (Mar-1959) , ZRC.2.3232, ZRC.2.6475 (1986), ZRC.2.3233– ZRC. 2.3235 (Apr-1989); Alexandra Park [= AW] : ZRC . 2.2398 (1988); Ayer Rajah Road [= NUS Kent Ridge ] : ZRC.2.3228 (01-Feb-1977) , ZRC.2.3229 (05-Apr-1988); Botanic Gardens : ZRC.2.6393 (Jan-1994); Bukit Timah Nature Reserve : ZRC. 2.6789 (29-Oct-2008); Golf Club [ SICC] : ZRC.2.3222 (09-Oct-1954); Geylang : ZRC.2.5904 (09-Jan-1934); Greenbank Park : ZRC. 2.6252 (20-Oct-2004); Island Club Road [ SICC] : ZRC.2.6311 (21-Sep-2006); Kent Ridge [ NUS] : ZRC.2.3227 (14-Sep-1973) , ZRC.2.5370 (Apr-1990) , ZRC.2.3236 (23-Apr-1990); Labrador : ZRC.2.3220 (28-Nov-1935); Malcolm Road : ZRC.2.3224– ZRC.2.3226 (13-Mar-1965); Old Upper Thomson Road : ZRC.2.6870 (06-Mar-2010); Pulau Ubin : ZRC.2.7102 (06-Aug-2012); Punggol : ZRC.2.3230– ZRC.2.3231 (1986); RAF Seletar [= Seletar Air Base] : BMNH 1983.973 – 974 (no date); Rifle Range Road : ZRC.2.6844 (02-Sep-2009); Tan Boon Chong Avenue : ZRC.2.6855 (29-Jul-2009); Toh Drive : ZRC.2.3237 (18-Dec-1990); Upper Peirce Reservoir Road : ZRC.2.5281 (24-Aug-2001) .

Additional Singapore museum specimens. Singapore (no locality): AMNH, CAS, MVZ, NMW, SAMA, SMNS, ZMH; Botanic Gardens: USNM; Bukit Timah Nature Reserve: UWBM; Lim Chee Kang Farm [= LCK]: BPBM; King’s Road: MCZ; Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve: UWBM.

Singapore localities. Alexandra Woodlands—Ang Mo Kio —Berlayer Creek—Bidadari Cemetery—Bukit Brown— Bukit Timah Nature Reserve—Canberra Road—Changi—Changi Business Park—Choa Chu Kang—Dairy Farm Nature Park—Dover—Geylang—Greenbank Park—Jurong Lake Gardens—Kent Ridge Park—King Albert Park—King’s Road—Kranji Marshes—Labrador (not specified)—Lim Chu Kang—Lorong Ayam Hutan—Lorong Danau Poyan—Lower Peirce Reservoir Park—Malcolm Road—Mandai Mangroves and Mudflats Nature Park—National University of Singapore Kent Ridge Campus—Night Safari—Old Upper Thomson Road—Queen’s Avenue—Pasir Panjang Hill—Pasir Ris Park—Pulau Tekong—Pulau Ubin— Punggol Farmway I—Rainforest Park North—Rifle Range Nature Park—Rifle Range Road—Seletar Air Base—Sembcorp Marine Ltd.—Sentosa—Sime Road Forest—Singapore Botanic Gardens—Singapore Island Country Club—Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve—Sungei Kadut—Tanah Merah—Tan Boon Chong Avenue—Toh Drive—Ulu Sembawang Forest—Upper Peirce Reservoir Road—Upper Seletar Reservoir Park—Watten Estate.

Figures

FIGURE 23. A) Hydrophis stokesii, B) Hydrophis stokesii, C) Laticauda colubrina, D) Naja sumatrana, E) Ophiophagus hannah, F) Bitia hydroides, G) Cantoria violacea, and H) Cerberus schneiderii. Photographs by: Kelvin K.P. Lim [A], Christopher J. Jolly [B], Philip Vogrinc [C], Alex Figueroa [D, G–H], Francis L.K. Lim [E], and Evan S.H. Quah [F].